Villagers in a virtual world with upgrading via codes

ABSTRACT

A user interface for a virtual world includes a circular area forming a display for an item in the virtual world, and controls surrounding only a portion of the display for controlling that item.

This application claims priority from provisional application No.61/327,309, filed Apr. 23, 2010, the entire contents of which areherewith incorporated by reference.

BACKGROUND

U.S. Pat. No. 7,425,169, filed Dec. 30, 2004 describes a system ofinteracting with a virtual representation of a real world product.According to this system, a user can buy a toy or item which isassociated with a special code. The toy exists in the real world, andthe code forms a key to the virtual world. The user enters the code on awebsite and enters the virtual world.

The virtual world provides activities and views with which the user caninteract. The virtual world, as part of the interaction, provides avirtual replica of the actual toy. Users can carry out variousactivities on the website using their virtual version of the toy. Forexample, the user can form a house with rooms, furniture, decorations,toys, clothing, and other objects. The user can also carry outactivities to earn cash and purchase virtual items using that cash.

SUMMARY

A system according to one aspect defines a special way of usingcharacters (e.g., referred hereinafter as “villagers”) in a virtualworld.

According to one aspect, villagers can be “upgraded” by a code.

According to another aspect, moods of the villagers can be changed bydifferent triggers within the game, and the actions of the villagers arechanged by the mood triggers.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

In the Drawings:

FIG. 1 shows a flowchart of operation of the villager upgrading; and

FIG. 2 shows a flowchart of mood adjustment.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

The present application describes additional aspects, actions andactivities and additional structure for adding to a website of the typedescribed in U.S. Pat. No. 7,421,569 and as described above. Theseaspects can be used with other kinds of websites and/or games; forexample, any website that allows user interaction.

In one embodiment and in websites such as the Webkinz® and Tail Towns™websites, users by way of their respective villagers carry outactivities to earn virtual cash that is usable on the website. Thevirtual cash can be used to purchase items that are usable on thewebsite, e.g., virtual food, furniture, virtual clothing or other items.

According to an embodiment, a villager is a virtual representation of aparticular figurine which serves as the user's or player's character orrepresentative in a virtual world. When the user buys a figurine, theuser gets a code associated with that figurine to register the figurineon the Tail Towns™ site. Registering a figurine unlocks a villagercharacter as a virtual character on the website, as well as severalother features associated with that villager.

Each type of figurine corresponds to a different type of villager. Eachvillager has certain kinds of characteristics and capabilities. Playerswant to have a variety of villagers because they each enhance the gamein different ways, extending gameplay. Players can register as manyvillagers as they wish, switching between them to play as differentvillagers at will.

As mentioned above, virtual villagers can be acquired via a secret codeincluded with a physical figurine, or purchased through virtual figurinesales in the eStore. In one embodiment, each code is created using 13alphanumeric characters, excluding the letters O, L, and I (to preventvisual confusion with numbers). The codes are run through a “bad word”filter to ensure that the codes do not inadvertently spell out somethinginappropriate.

When players register their code, they get all of the featuresassociated with a villager as well as receiving a virtual version of thevillager on the website.

The polystone figurines purchasable in physical stores are referred toas “physical figurines,” as opposed to “virtual figurines,” which can bepurchased in the eStore. To encourage brick-&-mortar store purchases,physical figurines may come with a bonus (virtual) item for the player'saccount.

To reward early adopters and promote collectability, the first editionof each figurine is distinguished from later editions by having avariant bonus item. This will normally be a “shinier” version of thebonus item.

One example of a villager is a virtual mouse that corresponds directlyto the physical figurine. The villager serves as the player'srepresentative in the world when directly controlled, and as anartificial intelligence agent for interaction when the player iscontrolling a different villager. Players can name their villagers. Thenames can be up to X characters long, and may include spaces, upper andlower case letters.

The player name will have the following restrictions:

-   -   The name cannot exceed the maximum character limit.    -   The name must have a minimum of three (3) characters.    -   The name must have two or more words (separated by a single        space).    -   The name must use only Roman alphabetic characters (not        numbers/symbols) and spaces.

Spaces are allowed so as to give players more choice; the player willessentially declare a “First Name” and a “Last Name” for her villager,which would be a two-word string (“Tom Tumbler” would be a valid name,for example). The name is nm through a filter to ensure that it is notinappropriate.

To further personalize one's villager, a clothing browser allows playersto select clothing for their villagers. Players are able to cyclethrough the preset initial clothing options easily. Simple “previous”and “next” buttons or arrows for each of the four pre-defined startclothing slots (upper body, lower body, hat, and shoes) are included.The clothing options are dynamically displayed on a Live Villagerpreview.

The default clothing matches the figurine, but players can modify theshape, texture, color of all clothing pieces. Once the player has setthe villager's clothing style, it can be changed at a later date. Thechanging of clothing may, for example, require the player to pay avirtual fee for the change.

A dynamic, 3D preview of the player's villager is visible at all timesthroughout the creation process. Players are able to rotate and zoom inon their villager, as well. This interface element will require eitherbuttons for the rotation or mouse-based control. One user interfacewhich may be employed in this regard is described in provisionalapplication No. 61/327,346, filed Apr. 23, 2010, the entire contents ofwhich are herewith incorporated by reference.

A “randomize” button randomly sets all of the aforementioned options andfields (name, eye color, clothing, accessories) to random values. Arandom name may be selected from a pre-determined list of appropriatenames. Then a “submit” button allows the player to confirm her choices.

Finally, all of the above fields are validated/verified upon submission.Text fields are checked for validity, and no firm options are leftblank. A system prompt will appear on submit if there are missing fieldswithout actually submitting the form; the missing fields are thenhighlighted. Required fields are marked as such to avoid playerconfusion.

When a player adds a new villager to her account, appropriate <Villager>outfit(s) for her villagers are unlocked. Outfits are matched sets ofclothing items and accessories that can be equipped. The outfit'scomponents are added to the player's inventory as soon as the code isregistered. This is tied to the account/eStore Inventory, and does nottake up normal inventory slots. Villager outfits cannot be traded orsold for in-game currency. The villager outfit pieces are treated likeeStore items and can be resold via the eStore.

Every villager adds “Economic Output” to the village. This results in adaily boost to the village fund (V.F.) e.g., village bank account. Eachvillager has the chance of providing an item drop (e.g., maximum of onceper day), based on the completion of a daily task.

Codes from physical figurines (as opposed to from virtual figurines) mayinclude a bonus item, appropriate to the figure. This bonus item istreated like an eStore item and can be resold on the eStore.

Satisfaction is a general measure of a villager's contentment. It is anaggregate of all the positive and negative actions that a player cantake during a game. Positive actions positively affect a villager'ssatisfaction, increasing its satisfaction rating, while negative actionsnegatively affect a villager's satisfaction, decreasing its satisfactionrating.

According to an embodiment, satisfaction is a calculated value derivedfrom the villager's current condition (“happiness” value), longer-termsatisfaction (influenced directly by happiness), and is compared to afixed “baseline contentment” value.

Players do not directly change the villager's long-term satisfaction.Instead, they alter the villager's happiness value, which in turn slowly“drags” the long-term satisfaction level upward or in a positivedirection. In this way, keeping a villager happy for a long time willgradually cause the villager to become more and more satisfied.

Villagers may have one of two types of pathing/movement logic.

-   -   Fixed—these villagers stay in a very limited locale, and perform        any of a series of scripted, appropriate tasks.    -   Roaming—these villagers move around the entire village,        occasionally stopping to perform any of a series of scripted,        appropriate tasks.

The player interacts with her villagers by selecting the villagers,e.g., right-clicking on them to pull up a contextual menu. Some of theoptions include:

-   -   Daily Task    -   Learn what is needed    -   Return when activity is accomplished    -   Earn reward    -   Dialog    -   Access MyVillagers interface    -   Give Item to Villager

Each villager can be selected to generate a daily task for the player toperform to gain her item drop. Some tasks are procedurally generated,while others are hand-crafted. When a villager has a daily task for theplayer, the villager will wave to the player, and have speech bubblescalling them over.

Some villagers are associated with a particular building. When a playerbuys the building, and has the villager, the villager now hangsout/works at the building. For example, the baker would work at thebakery.

Although a villager may roam around his building and throughout thevillage, when the player's villager enters the associated building, shewill always find her villager there, in addition to certain NPCs, suchas the Cashier Citizen NPC. If the player sees their villager elsewhere,e.g., wandering around town, the player can interact with the villagerthere, as well. If another player is watching the villager roam whilethe player is in her building, it does mean a villager can exist in twoplaces at the same time.

Villagers are the gateway to the world of Tail Towns™ for players, andeach villager has a specific set of “Skills” which determine how it fitsinto the game world. These skills, which range from hands-on talentslike “Culinary” to more abstract, intangible strengths like “Family”,will determine what rewards players will receive for playing the variousgames and quests with a given villager.

The relationship between Figurines, Plush, Villagers, and Skills isimportant to understand; the interplay between the four dictates a greatdeal of the game's play mechanics. As discussed earlier, “Figurines” arethe physical products that players buy in stores. Likewise, “Plush” arethe physical plush products that players buy in stores. As with afigurine, each physical “Plush” doll will unlock a digital villager forthe player's account within a virtual world. Both of these products canunlock either an “Open” villager or a “Skilled” villager. The playersare able to select which skill the plush-based Villager has during theregistration process. Aside from this minor difference duringregistration, open villagers will operate identically to figurine-basedvillagers.

Open villagers do not have a preset skill type; players are able tochoose the type of skill they wish that village to specialize in.Skilled villagers will have a preset skill specialization but with agreater level of skill than an open Villager can possibly have.

Aside from the villager's clothing and initial bonus items, villagersare differentiated by the “Skills” that they have. Skills dictate whichplay activities and daily directed activities the villager can benefitfrom. Each “Skilled” villager registered is competent in up to n (e.g.,3) different skills. Competency is rated on a scale from 1 to 10, with 1being the lowest and 10 being the highest. A villager with absolutely nocompetency in a given skill would effectively have a 0 rating; theseskills would not show up in the villager's skill set.

A Villager's competency in the skills does not necessarily have to be aneven split as long as the skill levels total 10. Consider the followingexamples:

-   -   A “Baker” Villager comes with 10 “Culinary” Skill, meaning it        can get special drops from the Culinary mini-game and undertake        Culinary quests.    -   A “Mom” Villager comes with 5 “Culinary” Skill and 5 “Family”        Skill, meaning it can get special drops from the Family and        Culinary (though of a lesser quality, generally, than the Baker)        mini-games and undertake quests from both skills.    -   A “Street Acrobat” Villager comes with 5 “Performer”, 3        “Social”, and 2 “Exercise,” meaning it can get special drops        from all three Skill mini-games and undertake quests from all        three.

Each “Open” villager registered can be competent in up to m (e.g., 1)skills. Unlike skilled-based villagers, open villagers may have amaximum aptitude less than that of a skilled villager in a single skill.

Skills have buildings associated with them that are used to gain accessto the skill-related play activity and quests amongst other things. Eachskill is tied to a single building; for example, the “Culinary” skillwould be tied to a bakery, restaurant, or cooking school/kitchenbuilding. Generally speaking, the higher level of skill a given villagerhas, the greater the caliber of item she will receive from a quest.Therefore, a Baker with a level 10 (the highest) Culinary skill are farmore likely to get the rarest and most high-quality Culinary item than aMother whose Culinary skill is half that of the Baker.

In addition to offering play activity and quests, the skill buildingsalso provide players with access to Crafting. A single skill buildingcan accommodate all of a player's villagers that have competency in itsskill.

Turning now to the figures, FIG. 1 shows obtaining a code at 100, andusing the code at 110 to obtain access to a virtual representation ofthe villager in the virtual world (shown as 115). As explained above,the code sets the various characteristics in the default villager, whichis shown as a characteristic set 116. As part of the characteristic set116, there is also a type 117 to the villager. Here, the villager is aChef type.

After entering the first villager's code, at 120, another code isentered. 125 represents determining the villager type associated withthis code. 130 then determines if this is the first time that the playerhas purchased this (villager) type of figurine (in this case, a Chef).If this is the first time that the player has entered that type of code,then a new villager (in the form of another virtual representation) iscreated at 135. Here, however, if the code is of type “Chef”, theexisting villager is upgraded at 140. According to one embodiment, thevillager is only upgraded by the entered code if the villager typealready exists in the player's account, rather than the player getting anew virtual representation of that villager. Therefore, the player isprovided with a new villager (by way of a virtual representation of thefigurine) from the code if no villager of that type currently exists inthe player's account; as contrasted by the player just receiving anupgrade to her existing virtual villager from the (second entered) codeif a villager of that type does exist in her account.

To illustrate the villager type upgrade as described above, imagine thata virtual representation of a basic, level 1 Chef Villager is given tothe player upon initial registration. A Base Chef Outfit 118 and a BaseChef Hat 119 is given to the villager. Special Items unique to thefigurine purchased are given to the villager. The player may also haveother options. For example, the player can choose among the fur optionsthe outfits for the Chef Villager.

The Chef Villager can be added to a Village and a restaurant can eitherbe automatically added because of the chef, or can already exist in thevillage. This allows players in the village to interact with the ChefVillager. Other villagers (as controlled by their respective players)can enter the restaurant. The mini-game “Cook-Off!” and crafting gamescan now be played. In addition, upgrade options for the Villager Typepurchased (chef type) are now available for purchase by therestaurant/Chef's owner/player.

The upgrade of the level of the Chef Villager at 140 occurs when theplayer enters at least a second code that relates to a villager typethat has already been entered (at least once). As shown in 140, thisraises the level of that villager by one. That is, if the villager isalready at level I, then the villager's level is raised to level II. Atthis point, the system indicates to the player what rewards come withthe upgrade (if any) and also displays information associated with thenew level. For example, for the chef, the rewards may include a newcooking set, and the player is told that the chefs new level is levelII. The chef may also obtain a new uniform for level II, and may have adifferent look and face associated with level II.

There may also be a cap set on the levels for each product type. Forexample, cooks may max out at level X. After the Villager has reachedthe level cap, the player may still receive rewards for entering newcodes, but does not get additional level increases (since there are noincreases in levels beyond the cap level). Alternatively, there can be acap set to the number of level increases that can occur via entering andregistering new codes of the same villager type. For example, a villagermay be limited to 3 level increases as a result of registeringadditional figurines of the same type as a previously registeredfigurine.

As the villagers interact within the game, their moods may be changedaccording to the different way in which the game is ongoing. FIG. 2illustrates mood output changes.

According to an embodiment, there are many different mood triggers showngenerally as 200. Any of these triggers produce an output mood value210. The mood value 200 causes the mood of different players to beadjusted in different ways at 220. The adjustment may include adjustingthe daily output of the players at 230 and adjusting their behaviors at231.

Some of the mood triggers generate negative values while other moodtriggers generate positive values. For example, a positive value maycheer up the villager, while a negative value may upset or sadden thevillager.

According to one embodiment, one of the triggers which adjust the moodis when the owner/player has become missing in action (“MIA”), shown as201 in FIG. 2. A player becomes MIA when the player has not logged infor 5 days or more. This may result in a negative change of the mood ofall of the player's villagers.

Another negative mood trigger at 202 occurs when a player loses a game.For example this may only occur when the game is lost significantly,e.g. gotten a failing grade (F) in a game. This again may adjust themood negatively of all or some of the player's villagers.

203 shows villager interaction, in which the player interacts with thevillagers. Alternatively, the villager can be interacted with by anothervillager such as a clown. This can adjust the mood of the villagers in apositive manner.

At 204, an item-being-sold trigger is shown. This can also adjust themood (positively) of the villager who made the purchase.

An ignore trigger is shown at 205, whereby the villager is notinteracted with by the owner/player, even though the player has beenaround (logged in). Activating the ignore trigger can negatively affectthe mood of that player's villagers.

At 206, the player has accepted a quest from one of his villagers, buthas not completed it. This can also negatively impact the mood of thequest-holding villager.

207 may be the opposite of 202, where a player has won a mini-game e.g.not gotten an F. This can result in a positive effect of the mood of thevillager who represented the player in the mini-game.

208 represents the player who has accepted and completed a quest fromone of his villagers. This can adjust the mood (positively) of thatquest-holding villager.

When any of the mood triggers have been activated, a mood value iscreated by that adjustment. The mood value can be positive or negative.The adjustment at 220 comprises adding the mood value created by thetrigger to the villager's existing mood value. This alters the mood ofthe villager or villagers and may change the way the villager reacts inthe virtual world.

According to one embodiment shown in 230, each of the affectedvillager's daily output value may vary according to the rules governinghow mood affects output. Another embodiment shown in 231 causes thevillagers to have specific behaviors that are mood-dependant, which willaffect what the villager does in the village.

An example of mood output will be explained for the case of trigger 201where the owner/player is MIA. In this embodiment, the player isconsidered to be MIA when the player has not logged in for 5 consecutivedays or more. The system calculates how many days the player has beenMIA by calculating the difference between the current date and the lastdate logged in.

This is then used to calculate how much to subtract from the affectedvillager's current mood value. According to an embodiment, the systemmultiplies (−2) to the number of MIA days and subtracts the result fromthe villager's mood value to get a result. This may be conditional; thatis the villager's total mood value may be limited to a value of 100. Inthe conditional case, if the villager's mood value is −100 then do notdo anything. If the calculated value is less than (−100) then the valueis limited to (−100).

Although only a few embodiments have been disclosed in detail above,other embodiments are possible and the inventors intend these to beencompassed within this specification. The specification describesspecific examples to accomplish a more general goal that may beaccomplished in another way. This disclosure is intended to beexemplary, and the claims are intended to cover any modification oralternative which might be predictable to a person having ordinary skillin the art. For example many other different kinds of traders can beused to change the mood. Also, while the upgrading described hereinincreases the level of the villager, it may also cause the villager'sappearance to change, for example level to cook me look older and wiserthan the level I cook.

Those of skill would further appreciate that the various illustrativelogical blocks, modules, circuits, and algorithm steps described inconnection with the embodiments disclosed herein may be implemented aselectronic hardware, computer software, or combinations of both. Toclearly illustrate this interchangeability of hardware and software,various illustrative components, blocks, modules, circuits, and stepshave been described above generally in terms of their functionality.Whether such functionality is implemented as hardware or softwaredepends upon the particular application and design constraints imposedon the overall system. Skilled artisans may implement the describedfunctionality in varying ways for each particular application, but suchimplementation decisions should not be interpreted as causing adeparture from the scope of the exemplary embodiments of the invention.

The various illustrative logical blocks, modules, and circuits describedin connection with the embodiments disclosed herein, may be implementedor performed with a general purpose processor, a Digital SignalProcessor (DSP), an Application Specific Integrated Circuit (ASIC), aField Programmable Gate Array (FPGA) or other programmable logic device,discrete gate or transistor logic, discrete hardware components, or anycombination thereof designed to perform the functions described herein.A general purpose processor may be a microprocessor, but in thealternative, the processor may be any conventional processor,controller, microcontroller, or state machine. The processor can be partof a computer system that also has a user interface port thatcommunicates with a user interface, and which receives commands enteredby a user, has at least one memory (e.g., hard drive or other comparablestorage, and random access memory) that stores electronic informationincluding a program that operates under control of the processor andwith communication via the user interface port, and a video output thatproduces its output via any kind of video output format, e.g., VGA, DVI,HDMI, display port, or any other form.

When operated on a computer, the computer may include a processor thatoperates to accept user commands, execute instructions and produceoutput based on those instructions. The processor is preferablyconnected to a communication bus. The communication bus may include adata channel for facilitating information transfer between storage andother peripheral components of the computer system. The communicationbus further may provide a set of signals used for communication with theprocessor, including a data bus, address bus, and/or control bus.

The communication bus may comprise any standard or non-standard busarchitecture such as, for example, bus architectures compliant withindustry standard architecture (“ISA”), extended industry standardarchitecture (“EISA”), Micro Channel Architecture (“MCA”), peripheralcomponent interconnect (“PCI”) local bus, or any old or new standardpromulgated by the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers(“IEEE”) including IEEE 488 general-purpose interface bus (“GPIB”), andthe like.

A computer system used according to the present application preferablyincludes a main memory and may also include a secondary memory. The mainmemory provides storage of instructions and data for programs executingon the processor. The main memory is typically semiconductor-basedmemory su.ch as dynamic random access memory (“DRAM”) and/or staticrandom access memory (“SRAM”). The secondary memory may optionallyinclude a hard disk drive and/or a solid state memory and/or removablestorage drive for example an external hard drive, thumb drive, a digitalversatile disc (“DVD”) drive, etc.

At least one possible storage medium is preferably a computer readablemedium having stored thereon computer executable code (i.e., software)and/or data thereon in a non-transitory form. The computer software ordata stored on the removable storage medium is read into the computersystem as electrical communication signals.

The computer system may also include a communication interface. Thecommunication interface allows' software and data to be transferredbetween computer system and external devices (e.g. printers), networks,or information sources. For example, computer software or executablecode may be transferred to the computer to allow the computer to carryout the functions and operations described herein. The computer systemcan be a network-connected server with a communication interface. Thecommunication interface may be a wired network card, or a Wireless,e.g., Wi-Fi network card.

Software and data transferred via the communication interface aregenerally in the form of electrical communication signals.

Computer executable code (i.e., computer programs or software) arestored in the memory and/or received via communication interface andexecuted as received. The code can be compiled code or interpreted codeor website code, or any other kind of code.

A “computer readable medium” can be any media used to provide computerexecutable code (e.g., software and computer programs and websitepages), e.g., hard drive, USB drive or other. The software, whenexecuted by the processor, preferably causes the processor to performthe inventive features and functions previously described herein.

A processor may also be implemented as a combination of computingdevices, e.g., a combination of a DSP and a microprocessor, a pluralityof microprocessors, one or more microprocessors in conjunction with aDSP core, or any other such configuration. These devices may also beused to select values for devices as described herein.

The steps of a method or algorithm described in connection with theembodiments disclosed herein may be embodied directly in hardware, in asoftware module executed by a processor, or in a combination of the two.A software module may reside in Random Access Memory (RAM), flashmemory, Read Only Memory (ROM), Electrically Programmable ROM (EPROM),Electrically Erasable Programmable ROM (EEPROM), registers, hard disk, aremovable disk, a CD-ROM, or any other form of storage medium known inthe art. An exemplary storage medium is coupled to the processor suchthat the processor can read information from, and write information to,the storage medium. In the alternative, the storage medium may beintegral to the processor. The processor and the storage medium mayreside in an ASIC. The ASIC may reside in a user terminal. In thealternative, the processor and the storage medium may reside as discretecomponents in a user terminal.

In one or more exemplary embodiments, the functions described may beimplemented in hardware, software, firmware, or any combination thereof.If implemented in software, the functions may be stored on ortransmitted over as one or more instructions or code on acomputer-readable medium. Computer-readable media includes both computerstorage media and communication media including any medium thatfacilitates transfer of a computer program from one place to another. Astorage media may be any available media that can be accessed by acomputer. By way of example, and not limitation, such computer-readablemedia can comprise RAM, ROM, EEPROM, CD-ROM or other optical diskstorage, magnetic disk storage or other magnetic storage devices, or anyother medium that can be used to carry or store desired program code inthe form of instructions or data structures and that can be accessed bya computer. The memory storage can also be rotating magnetic hard diskdrives, optical disk drives, or flash memory based storage drives orother such solid state, magnetic or optical storage devices. Also, anyconnection is properly termed a computer-readable medium. For example,if the software is transmitted from a website, server, or other remotesource using a coaxial cable, fiber optic cable, twisted pair, digitalsubscriber line (DSL), or wireless technologies such as infrared, radio,and microwave, then the coaxial cable, fiber optic cable, twisted pair,DSL, or wireless technologies such as infrared, radio, and microwave areincluded in the definition of medium. Disk and disc, as used herein,includes compact disc (CD), laser disc, optical disc, digital versatiledisc (DVD), floppy disk and blu-ray disc where disks usually reproducedata magnetically, while discs reproduce data optically with lasers.Combinations of the above should also be included within the scope ofcomputer-readable media. The computer readable media can be an articlecomprising a machine-readable non-transitory tangible medium embodyinginformation indicative of instructions that when performed by one ormore machines result in computer implemented operations comprising theactions described throughout this specification.

Operations as described herein can be carried out on or over a website.The website can be operated on a server computer or operated locally,e.g., by being downloaded to the client computer, or operated via aserver farm. The website can be accessed over a mobile phone or a PDA,or on any other client. The website can use HTML code in any form, e.g.,MHTML, or XML, and via any form such as cascading style sheets (“CSS”)or other.

Also, the inventors intend that only those claims which use the words“means for” are intended to be interpreted under 35 USC 112, sixthparagraph. Moreover, no limitations from the specification are intendedto be read into any claims, unless those limitations are expresslyincluded in the claims. The computers described herein may be any kindof computer, either general purpose, or some specific purpose computersuch as a workstation. The programs may be written in C, or Java, Brewor any other programming language. The programs may be resident on astorage medium, e.g., magnetic or optical, e.g. the computer hard drive,a removable disk or media such as a memory stick or SD media, or otherremovable medium. The programs may also be run over a network, forexample, with a server or other machine sending signals to the localmachine, which allows the local machine to carry out the operationsdescribed herein.

Where a specific numerical value is mentioned herein, it should beconsidered that the value may be increased or decreased by 20%, whilestill staying within the teachings of the present application, unlesssome different range is specifically mentioned. Where a specifiedlogical sense is used, the opposite logical sense is also intended to beencompassed.

The previous description of the disclosed exemplary embodiments isprovided to enable any person skilled in the art to make or use thepresent invention. Various modifications to these exemplary embodimentswill be readily apparent to those skilled in the art, and the genericprinciples defined herein may be applied to other embodiments withoutdeparting from the spirit or scope of the invention. Thus, the presentinvention is not intended to be limited to the embodiments shown hereinbut is to be accorded the widest scope consistent with the principlesand novel features disclosed herein.

1. A method of interacting with characters in a virtual world,comprising: receiving a code by a server computer system over a networkconnection from a user; responsive to receiving said code, registering afirst virtual character of a first type by the server computer system,and providing a virtual representation of the first character directedto the user over the network connection; allowing interaction with thevirtual representation of the first character by the user, saidinteracting including at least changing at least one item that is wornby the first character and carrying out at least one virtual task;initially assigning a level to the first character as being a firstlevel, where said level represents a level of skill of the firstcharacter in carrying out said at least one virtual task; receiving asecond code by the server computer system over the network connectionfrom the user; analyzing the second code by the server computer systemto determine if the second code represents a second character of saidfirst type; and if the second code represents that said second characteris of said first type, then the server computer system increases saidlevel of the first character to a second level based on said enteringsaid second code, where said second level has additional capabilities incarrying out said at least one virtual task as compared with said firstlevel, and if the second code represents that said second character isnot of said first type, then the server computer system registers saidsecond virtual character of a second type to the user and provides avirtual representation of the second character to the user over thenetwork connection.
 2. A method as in claim 1, wherein said first andsecond levels of said first character have different appearances in thevirtual world.
 3. A method as in claim 1, wherein said first and secondlevels of said first character have different specific skills in thevirtual world.
 4. A method as in claim 1, wherein said first skillincludes a vocation of the characters.
 5. A method as in claim 4,wherein said first type of character is a cook, and said second type ofcharacter is a vocation other than a cook.
 6. A method as in claim 1,wherein when the second code represents that said second character is ofsaid first type, then the server computer system increases said level ofthe first character to said second level based on said entering saidsecond code without providing a virtual representation of said secondcharacter associated with said second code, and when the second coderepresents that said second character is not of said first type, thenthe server computer system registers said second virtual character ofthe second type to the user and provides a virtual representation of thesecond character to the user over the network connection.
 7. A method asin claim 1, setting a mood value for the character in the virtual world.8. A method as in claim 7, wherein the first character reacts to actionsin the virtual world according to the mood value, where one mood of thefirst character represented by one mood value causes the first characterto react differently than another mood value representing another moodof the first character; and where an action or inaction taken by theuser in the virtual world changes the mood value of the first characterbased on said action or inaction.
 9. A method of interacting withcharacters in a virtual world, comprising: receiving a code by a servercomputer system over a network connection from a user; responsive toreceiving said code, registering a first virtual character of a firsttype by the server computer system, and providing a virtualrepresentation of the first character directed to the user over thenetwork connection; allowing interaction with the virtual representationof the first character by the user by carrying out at least one virtualtask using said first character; initially carrying out said at leastone virtual task using said first character at a first skill level;receiving a second code by the server computer system over the networkconnection from the user; analyzing the second code by the servercomputer system to determine if the second code represents a secondcharacter of said first type; and if the second code represents thatsaid second character is of said first type, then the server computersystem increases said first skill level of the first character to asecond level based on said entering said second code without registeringsaid second character from said second code.
 10. A method as in claim 9,wherein when the second code represents that said second character isnot of said first type, then the server computer system registers saidsecond character of the second type to the user and provides a virtualrepresentation of the second character to the user over the networkconnection.
 11. A method of interacting with characters in a virtualworld, comprising: interacting with a first virtual character of a firsttype, and providing a virtual representation of the first character to auser by a server computer system over a network connection; setting amood value for the character in the virtual world by the server computersystem; the character reacting, to actions in the virtual worldaccording to the mood value, where one mood of the character representedby one mood value causes the character to react differently than anothermood value representing another mood of the character; allowinginteraction with the virtual representation of the first character bythe user; and detecting an action or inaction in the virtual world bythe server computer system and changing the mood value of the characterbased on said action or inaction, wherein said action or inactioncomprises both of the user having logged into the website and also nothaving interacted with the character.
 12. A method of interacting withcharacters in a virtual world, comprising: interacting with a firstvirtual character of a first type, and providing a virtualrepresentation of the first character to a user by a server computersystem over a network connection; setting a mood value for the characterin the virtual world by the server computer system; the characterreacting to actions in the virtual world according to the mood value,where one mood of the character represented by one mood value causes thecharacter to react differently than another mood value representinganother mood of the character; allowing interaction with the virtualrepresentation of the first character by the user; and detecting anaction or inaction in the virtual world by the server computer systemand changing the mood value of the character based on said action orinaction, wherein said action or inaction is an action in which the userloses a game in the virtual world.
 13. A method as in claim 12, whereinsaid user owns a plurality of different characters and said mood valueis applied to each of said plurality of characters.
 14. A method as inclaim 11, further comprising receiving a code by the server computersystem over a network connection from a user; and responsive toreceiving said code, the server computer system registering said firstvirtual character.